Hundang knife/Mt. Pinatubo Negritos
 

Thanks again to all the forum members who helped me ID this fine Philippines piece! Posting some better photos for comment/reference now gray I have the item.

Blade: About 33 x 4.5 cm
Hilt: Dark hardwood. Steel ferrule. About 12 x 3 cm.
Scabbard: Light hardwood. Remnants of rattan binding. About 37 x 6 cm.

WW,

You have a very nice complete example of this uncommon knife. Congratulations. It's not easy to find the "full set." Incidentally, those marks on the spine are of no known significance. Despite some people thinking these marks represent "kills," as best we know they are just decorative.

This type of bladed implement is totally outside my area of specific knowledge, however, the file work on the back of the blade is not.

In many societies across the world, file work on the back of a blade is put there to assist grip when working with a knife by holding with the "thumb on blade"grip. This grip is common in both working knives and knives used as weapons.

Hello Wildwolberine,

Have you oiled the wooden scabbard? It looks very dry, especially down from it.

Regards,
Detlef

Hi Detlef,

No, I haven’t. What oil do you suggest?

I personally use linseed oil but others use other oils.

Regards,
Detlef

Would you recommend boiled or raw linseed oil? I searched the forums and i see a diversity of opinions. I typically use mineral oil

I use virgin oil, cold pressed. And yes, others use other plant oils and others like you yourself mineral oil.
But as mentioned before, the wood of your scabbard looks very dry so I would recommend oiling it.

Regards,
Detlef

I don't know. Could they be talismanic like what is on some Moro pieces?

Possibly Jose. But I have heard nothing to that effect from the wider Filipino community. In fact, I've been told fairly consistently that these marks are just decoration. If anyone has information about those marks, I'd certainly appreciate them sharing it. I've tried to research the Negrito knives around Mt Pinatubo but there is relatively little to find online except for the work of Fox.